The name game.

As baby fever gathers momentum, we've started to think about names.  Annie is part of a group, on Facebook, that is for people due to give birth in October 2012.  This is a common topic on there and has clear unwritten rules whereby prospective mothers don't actually divulge their true feelings towards each other's suggestions.  I think the purpose of this is so that you don't offend someone else's choices and in turn they won't make derogatory comments about your suggestions either.

Anyway, while we realise it's unlikely we'll decide on a name now and actually go all the way to birth with that name, it is nevertheless fun to have a think about it and get an idea of the sort of common ground that you share  in the naming arena.

I'm convinced that one of the biggest decisions you make in life is the naming of your child(ren).  It is something that sticks with them forever, it has an effect on how they and others view you and your child and most importantly they've got to like it when they're older.  It's good if it's not too common, but not so obscure that it's annoying (no-one likes the names of celebrity kids, do they?), it's probably nice if it can have a meaning that is also nice, and quite importantly it shouldn't remind you of someone unpleasant (you couldn't, for example, call your child Adolf - I'm aware he was more than unpleasant, but it makes a point).  It's also an added bonus if the name can be shortened (I know I often wanted a nickname when I was a kid and the best I ever got was Pezza, Pez or Pel.  Disappointing I think you'll agree, and I was never going to get a character name like "Tiny" as I'm not tall enough).  Another bonus is if you can pick a name that will suit a baby and will also will suit an adult.

Our main problem seems to be picking a name that isn't too upper or middle class (which we're not particularly) but I find it very difficult to think of many I like that aren't.  Another is that we'd rather not have a very Christian name (Stephen, David, Jesus etc.) as we're not religious and apart from anything it seems a little unfair on those that are.  Annie seems to find it harder to think of boys' names than girls' - which she has a lot of ideas for.

While not exactly a short list, we have had a few ideas, that Annie has written down in her pregnancy diary book.  Amongst others, for a girl: Zoë (I like this one because I think it's exotic and fun to have an umlaut in your name, Ivy (which I like because it's Earthy and not too common) and Katie (which I think just has a nice sound).  A few of the boy name ideas are: Oscar (maybe a bit posh), Hugo (one I liked but Annie went off) and Adrian (quite easily shortened to Ade.  We thought this might lead to people thinking of Ade Edmonson, but then thought that by the time the child is old enough to go to school few people would make such a connection).  One which was rather unfortunately ruled out was Robin (Robin Swift is just silly).

One area where you can be a little more expressive is middle names, as these are barely used.  I am still unsure as to whether to use the fact that my middle names are Francis Roland as reason to be kinder to my child or whether to exact vengeance by giving them a middle name (or names) that will be equally hilarious when read out at school.  I think I will avoid temptation and be lenient.  Middle names also seem a good opportunity to add a family name or two in there.  If we are to follow this route we have choices of: John, Colin and Raine from Annie's side of the family for a boy; Christopher, David, Francis and Reginald from mine.  If it is a girl, Marie, Florence and Jane on Annie's side; Sheila, Rose, Anne and Frances (again) on my side.

As you can see from this rambley entry, as per usual, it is definitely a minefield and not a task to be undertaken lightly.  I can only hope that we see our baby and a name immediately springs to mind, but for the moment while it is still in utero, Pip will do.

Giving in.

It's been a little over a week since the last post, but seems like forever.  I (or we) seem to be in a weird sort of time zone where days or weeks seem to go slow but then in retrospect everything is going really fast and we're up to the 14 week point tomorrow.  It's very strange.

As I said on my previous post we decided that that was the point we could buy our first baby thing.  Our intention has been to slowly add to the things that we need and want over the course of the pregnancy.  It turns out that we decided and what we actually do are slightly different.  My Mum came to stay with us this week (which she likes to do when she can) and which can sometimes result in her and Annie going to do a little shopping.

On this particular occasion they went to the Ashford Outlet - "offering designer labels at discount prices" - and as it turns out my Mum is also holding back a desire to purchase baby stuff.  So after I nipped out on my lunch break to go and see 'The Scream' (probably my favourite painting) I gave Annie a call and she excitedly told me about the baby things they purchased.  As you can see they made a few purchases; two rather natty baby grows from Petit Bateau (still eye-wateringly expensive despite it being an outlet) and a Moses basket from the local charity                                                                                                                                                                                                           shop at the cheap-as-chips price of a fiver, which means all we need to get is a rocking stand, a good mattress and some different blankets.

This spurred Annie and I on to go and look around the shops some more.  The main drawback of getting baby shopping urges at this early stage is the fact that you don't know the sex.  So as lovely and tempting as the clothes may be and no matter how good a bargain something might be, you can't really get the things that you want.  I can only imagine how much time we're going to spend hunting for baby clothes after the twenty week scan (which is scheduled for 25th May, by the way).

As Annie is starting to feel a little more comfortable in terms of sickness now, she let me take a photo (she looks more gorgeous with each passing day to me - she refuses to accept it), which was taken today at 13 weeks 6 days (I'm going to round that up to 14 weeks).  She's been confidently claiming that if she gets a little bit of a belly at the end of the day after a large meal, it's gone again the next morning.  She made such a declaration when my Mum kindly took us out for a slap up meal at a fantastic gastro-pub, called The Wheel near Ashford.  However the bump had not gone down significantly by the next day...or the one after that.  It seems that it's getting to the sort of time when she's going to start showing a real bump, real fast.  Another thing that you might pick up from the picture is an insatiable desire for Fruit Pastille lollies, which are one of the few things that are consistently good at keeping out nausea.



We sat down last night to watch the controversial pilot episode of the "comedy" programme Derek, which we decided wasn't offensive in the slightest, but should definitely contain a warning message to pregnant ladies as it left Annie in fits of tears (it made me cry a bit as well, but Annie's not allowed to see that).

For my part it's been a particularly busy and stressful week at work.  As well as this I am trying to push myself to study for the dreaded CIMA exams I'm going to take in June, which is also very stressful and a bit of a struggle, both in terms of content and motivation.  However, I've got a fantastic stress management tool in Annie and the baby.  I only have to think of them and it instantly calms me down and I remember just how lucky and happy I am at everything that's going on in my life.  I might not enjoy all the work but everything else is going just as I hoped it would, I can't wait to meet the baby and I can't wait to be a Dad.

First trimester down.

Today was one of the biggest days of the pregnancy so far, the dating scan.  Luckily we found out that the first date we were given was bang-on.  This means we are 12 weeks and 4 days now and due on the 14th of October (10 days before my birthday), but I'll come back to the scan.

It's been a big week overall, on Monday we took delivery of the tumble dryer (courtesy of the mother-in-law).  Sad as it may be, this was a very exciting event and one which was a vital step in preparing to be the laundrette for babies that we are due to become mid-October.

Anyway today was the big day, we had been looking forward to for weeks.  We made sure to turn up at the hospital 10 minutes early, as instructed, and mazed our way around the hospital until we reached the ultrasound department.  We were a little alarmed that it was so busy, but much to the dismay of the waiting throng we got called in, just after I got told off for trying to snoop at people's personal details (when in actual fact I was merely interested in the nice thank you cards that people had sent to the maternity unit, that were displayed on the wall).

Baby pulling the classic "nicky-nicky-na-na" pose.
We think it might have been aimed at the radiographer.

The radiologist (I hope that's the right nomenclature) promptly sat Annie on the bed and I took a seat of my own.  So the nurse squirts the nice cold gel on Annie's belly and sets about the scan.  She promptly finds the baby, just chilling...upside down.  She kindly informed us that this is normal and the baby looks very healthy but that it needs to be horizontal or at very least vertical in the normal position in order to measure the neck for the Downs Syndrome test.

We were informed that if the baby didn't wake up and move into the correct position quick smart that we would need another appointment to get the test done.  Luckily the nurse was very patient and there are a number of techniques that can encourage the baby to move around.  The first was a nice little dance, the nurse tried again, the baby didn't move.  The second was to empty the bladder, the nurse tried again, the baby didn't move.  The third was to pop off and get a coffee, the nurse tried again, the baby didn't move.  When I say didn't move, I mean didn't move into position, the baby did wriggle.

The baby shortly before "cap-sizing" into headstand position.

Eventually after one particularly energetic jig the baby moved into a horizontal position, balancing on an 'A' shape in the uterus.  This was the opportunity to get the required measurement and just before she could get the image and do so, the baby did a sort of repeated kangaroo-kick motion and powered itself back into the upside-down position.  We thought we had it once again when the baby was coaxed into moving around, only to tilt backwards in a move that resembled the sinking of The Titanic and ended up upside-down again.

Anyway to cut a long story short the persistent nurse eventually got the required measurement and told us it was very good.  The next step was the dreaded blood test.  Annie dealt with it in her stride and the nurse administering the blood test was much chattier than the last one, which made the process a little easier.  Unfortunately she was only able to drain a piddly amount of blood but it turned out to be just enough.

It was really magical to see such a perfectly formed tiny little person in there.  It was amazing to see its little hand waving at us and its nose (which is already looking like mine - a bit worrying) and tiny feet.  Being on a little bit of a baby high we trekked off to further research prams at Babies R' Us.  There were quite a few prams to get hands-on with, most of which were completely terrible, however we did really like the B-Smart 3.  We also bought our first baby item (admittedly we couldn't wait until after the scan and made the purchase last weekend).  It's a gorgeous little Very Hungry Caterpillar jacket, which was on sale in Sainsbury's.

All-in-all there's been a lot of excitement, and of course there's much more to look forward to.